Chris Abelen

The troubling themes and musical expressiveness of Songs on the eve of dismissal are suggestive of a
dramatic theater piece or opera, and indeed, Abelen and Geleijnse are finalizing the script for a stage
production comprising the Songs. But the wonderful thing about this recording is that you can either
get out the Kleenex or enjoy the music the way you would any great jazz vocalist with a terrific band.
This dual function of jazz is part of a tradition. You can listen to Billie Holiday or Frank Sinatra either
way. It’s only possible with a composer, lyricist, singer, band, and arranger like those in this album who
know how to make it work.

Chris Abelen (born September 29, 1959 in Tilburg, the Netherlands) is a jazz trombonist, composer and bandleader. Abelen started his professional career as a member of the Willem Breuker Kollektief. After he left this band in 1988 he started to form his own bands. All compositions for these bands are written by Abelen, from a jazz quartet to a big-band.

Chris Abelen started, as many trombonists, with the trumpet (at the age of 11). At the age of 18 he switched to the trombone. He started to study classical trombone with Charles Toet and Henri Aarts, and after 4 years switched to Amsterdam to study with Willem van Manen, former 1st trombonist of the Willem Breuker Kollektief. When Van Manen left, shortly replaced by Garrett List, Abelen started to perform with the Kollektief in the summer of 1984. After extensive touring with this band he left at the beginning of 1988, to start his own band, and to perform with others.

The first band was the Chris Abelen sextet, with Tobias Delius, Bo van de Graaf, Wilbert de Joode, Martin van Duynhoven and Jan Kuiper. Their first perfomance was on the Klap of the Vuurpijl, a 5 days festival, organized by Willem Breuker between Christmas and new year's eve in Amsterdam. Unfortunately the Dutch Radio Broadcast Corporation lost the recordings of this concert. After some concerts Abelen decided to continue with a quartet, so Kuiper and Van de Graaf left the band. The Chris Abelen Quartet performed once, for a VPRO radio broadcoast in O42 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. From this recording the title track Plint is on the EP Plint (CAMP 005), with a great tenor solo from Delius. After this one- time concert Abelen decided to replace Martin van Duijnhoven by Charles Huffstadt, and asked Corrie van Binsbergen to join the quintet. They started in the studio with a recording of Dance of the Penguins (1996). A 2nd live album was recorded in 1999, What a romance. Before starting this Chris Abelen Quintet, Abelen was commissioned for a 2nd time to write for the Klap op de Vuurpijl for a 10- piece band, with Ab Baars, Paul Termos, Frans Vermeersen, Eckard Kolterman, Eric Boeren, Larry Fishkind, Michael Vatcher and Wilbert de Joode. Years later (in 2002) Abelen decided to release these recordings and produced his 3rd album PROOST (dutch for 'cheers'). The 4th album, Space, was recorded with the quintet, a string quartet (Zapp4) and Ab Baars on clarinet. In 2016 Abelen released his 6th album, A day at the office, for a septet with a new line-up, with Angelo Verploegen, Floris van der Vlugt, Tini Thomsen, Thijs Huijbens, Ulrich Wentzlaf and Yonga Sun. This album is part of a new project which Abelen is working on with Bastiaan Geleijnse, a Dutch cartoonist (Fokke & Sukke), who is writing the text and lyrics.

Chris Abelen (born September 29, 1959 in Tilburg, the Netherlands) is a jazz trombonist, composer and bandleader. Abelen started his professional career as a member of the Willem Breuker Kollektief. After he left this band in 1988 he started to form his own bands. All compositions for these bands are written by Abelen, from a jazz quartet to a big-band.

Chris Abelen started, as many trombonists, with the trumpet (at the age of 11). At the age of 18 he switched to the trombone. He started to study classical trombone with Charles Toet and Henri Aarts, and after 4 years switched to Amsterdam to study with Willem van Manen, former 1st trombonist of the Willem Breuker Kollektief. When Van Manen left, shortly replaced by Garrett List, Abelen started to perform with the Kollektief in the summer of 1984. After extensive touring with this band he left at the beginning of 1988, to start his own band, and to perform with others.

The first band was the Chris Abelen sextet, with Tobias Delius, Bo van de Graaf, Wilbert de Joode, Martin van Duynhoven and Jan Kuiper. Their first perfomance was on the Klap of the Vuurpijl, a 5 days festival, organized by Willem Breuker between Christmas and new year's eve in Amsterdam. Unfortunately the Dutch Radio Broadcast Corporation lost the recordings of this concert. After some concerts Abelen decided to continue with a quartet, so Kuiper and Van de Graaf left the band. The Chris Abelen Quartet performed once, for a VPRO radio broadcoast in O42 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. From this recording the title track Plint is on the EP Plint (CAMP 005), with a great tenor solo from Delius. After this one- time concert Abelen decided to replace Martin van Duijnhoven by Charles Huffstadt, and asked Corrie van Binsbergen to join the quintet. They started in the studio with a recording of Dance of the Penguins (1996). A 2nd live album was recorded in 1999, What a romance. Before starting this Chris Abelen Quintet, Abelen was commissioned for a 2nd time to write for the Klap op de Vuurpijl for a 10- piece band, with Ab Baars, Paul Termos, Frans Vermeersen, Eckard Kolterman, Eric Boeren, Larry Fishkind, Michael Vatcher and Wilbert de Joode. Years later (in 2002) Abelen decided to release these recordings and produced his 3rd album PROOST (dutch for 'cheers'). The 4th album, Space, was recorded with the quintet, a string quartet (Zapp4) and Ab Baars on clarinet. In 2016 Abelen released his 6th album, A day at the office, for a septet with a new line-up, with Angelo Verploegen, Floris van der Vlugt, Tini Thomsen, Thijs Huijbens, Ulrich Wentzlaf and Yonga Sun. This album is part of a new project which Abelen is working on with Bastiaan Geleijnse, a Dutch cartoonist (Fokke & Sukke), who is writing the text and lyrics.

Beside his own bands Abelen toured and recorded with the Contraband, from his former teacher Willem van Manen, and with other dutch bands, such as I Compani, Paradise Regained Orchestra, Eric van der Westen Octet, Dick de Graaf Septet. Chris Abelen is also working as a professional engraver (Finale/Apple), for publishers as Boosey & Hawkes (London), Donemus, Universal and for orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Asko/Schönberg (Amsterdam), Metropole Orchestra (the Netherlands), Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and others. Abelen started with digital engraving in 1992, when Willem Breuker needed some help with his Atari. Composers among others Louis Andriessen, Martijn Padding, Willem Jeths, Geert van Keulen, Elmer Schönberger, Bernard van Beurden, Willem Breuker.

January 29, 2018

August 19, 2016

Band camp Jazz Pick - Jan. 2018 (Songs on the eve o dismissal)
A gospel for those consigned to cubicle life, Chris Abelen’s new album captures the angst and ennui of
the career office employee. The trombonist’s octet maintains a whimsical tone throughout, but nothing
about the lyrics give the impression of irony. The vocal delivery of Lorena del Mar creates an intriguing
tonal contrast between the delivery of the lyrics and their meaning, an effect amplified by some lovely
harmonic work between trumpet, trombone, alto and baritone saxophones. Minus the choir, this project
has a lot of similarities to that of Max Andrzejewski´s HÜTTE and The Homegrown Organic Gospel
Choir treatise to the love of food… a Bandcamp Jazz pick from back in the day.
-Dave Sumner

Fiona Ord-Shrimpton’s comment on ‘Fix’ [3rd track of A day at the office] (AAJ):
‘The pharmacy was closed when the many tired ghosts of Miles Davis decided to in vivo freak this
band

Band camp Jazz Pick - Jan. 2018 (Songs on the eve o dismissal)
A gospel for those consigned to cubicle life, Chris Abelen’s new album captures the angst and ennui of
the career office employee. The trombonist’s octet maintains a whimsical tone throughout, but nothing
about the lyrics give the impression of irony. The vocal delivery of Lorena del Mar creates an intriguing
tonal contrast between the delivery of the lyrics and their meaning, an effect amplified by some lovely
harmonic work between trumpet, trombone, alto and baritone saxophones. Minus the choir, this project
has a lot of similarities to that of Max Andrzejewski´s HÜTTE and The Homegrown Organic Gospel
Choir treatise to the love of food… a Bandcamp Jazz pick from back in the day.
-Dave Sumner

Fiona Ord-Shrimpton’s comment on ‘Fix’ [3rd track of A day at the office] (AAJ):
‘The pharmacy was closed when the many tired ghosts of Miles Davis decided to in vivo freak this
band. Suitable for zombies and psychedelics. #livingdeadcharm’

Press Quotes from previously released albums:

SPACE
This game of contrasts yields wonderful results, for example when the strings play 'softly', much like
chamber music, while a piercing clarinet or a hard funky guitar is thrown against it. So much
sophisticated subtlety could easily lead to a loss of tension, but as the leader of the band is well aware
of this danger, he gives plenty of room for elaborate solos to develop in these thirteen pieces. What a
relief to be able to breathe and stroll around freely in a 'space' that is not unnecessarily cluttered.
There is no need for excessive loudness, as the clarity of the performance enables the listener to hear
every single detail of what is on offer. A virtue only too easily forgotten in contemporary orchestral jazz.
Chris Abelen has undeniably reached a very high standard.
PROOST
Imagine the Art Ensemble Of Chicago jamming with Duke Ellington and the Willem Breuker Collective,
injecting their jam with elements from the New Orleans funk, blues and brass band music, and you'll
get a pretty good picture of what this CD by this Dutch trombone player sounds like. -Groovemaster -
WHAT A ROMANCE
A much stronger effort than his earlier Dance of the Penguins, What a Romance features a more
confident, mature, and gruff-sounding Chris Abelen on trombone — who not only leads but does so in
glorious style. Steven Loewy - All Music Guide
DANCE OF THE PENGUINS
Delius is featured over pedal tones on Delay, just before Corrie van Binsbergen breaks out with a
nasty electric guitar solo. Charles Huffstadt's march drums on Who's Next recall Henry Threadgill's
Sextet, but this group's got a wholly original sound. Bassist Wilbert de Joode wields an enviable high-
action, matte-timbre sound.
John Corbett - Downbeat

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